The present disclosure generally relates to the field of electronics. More particularly, an embodiment of the invention generally relates to a spring loaded heat sink retention mechanism.
As integrated circuit fabrication technology improves, manufacturers are able to integrate additional functionality onto a single silicon substrate. As the number of the functionalities increases, however, so does the number of components on a single IC chip. Additional components add additional signal switching, in turn, generating more heat. The additional heat may damage an IC chip by, for example, thermal expansion. Also, the additional heat may limit usage locations and/or applications of a computing device that includes such chips.
To limit damage resulting from higher temperatures, some implementations may use a heat sink that is attached to an IC chip to dissipate the heat generated by the IC chip. Some implementations may use a wave solder heat sink (WSHS) that may be attached to the IC chip prior to shipment from a supplier. Generally, WSHS may be used to provide a relatively low-cost heat sink solution when compared with heat sinks that may be installed after shipment from a supplier. In particular, during the wave soldering process the initial contact pressure at the thermal interface material between the heat sink and the IC chip may be provided by mechanical compression. However, long-term failure may occur due to subsequent relative movement of parts (which may also be referred to as “creep” flow) and relaxation of pressure applied at initial installation. Thus, in time, the parts under force may relax, e.g., due to slow and persistent material flow mechanism, causing eventual failure of the thermal interface material as the contact pressure is diminished to the point that the thermal interface material may no longer meet the performance requirement. Hence, long term reliability of WSHS may degrade over time, especially when exposed to elevated temperatures.